HOMELESS....

We have yet another answered prayer!! As I type this, I am so humbled by the mercy that God has shown our family. We are such IMPERFECT people but yet God chooses to pour out His blessings on us again and again! As of July 9th, we will no longer be home owners in Memphis! Our house has been on the market a little over a month and we now have a contract on it! Such a GOD thing! Thank you for the praying that you have been praying doing for us throughout this transition. We can really feel God's favor in our lives.

So the question everyone has asked is "Now What"? I still don't have an answer for that. Things are going well for Lucas and his job in NYC. His time there is not over yet. As for me and Layla, we are enjoying the family time in Murfreesboro. Layla is loving all the attention from grandparents and great grandparents. Obviously, we are anxious to be back with Lucas, but we are waiting on the Lord to direct our steps. We have a few options as to where we can settle for the next 6 months or so, but are not going to jump into anything just yet. The great thing is now we have the freedom to explore our options because we are not tied to a house in Memphis. Our end goal is still Atlanta but it is not quite time for us to head there yet. We are very thankful, and have a peace about waiting....

Walking in Memphis

Layla is finally WALKING!! But in Murfreesboro, not Memphis :) She actually took a couple stepps on her first birthday and then a few days later took about 4 steps. Then last Saturday when she was playing with her cousins (Reese 6, Gavin 2.5) she started taking about 8-10 steps. I didn't want to say anything because Lucas was in NYC and I wanted him to be surprised when he returned home. Layla is now walking from room to room and will intentionally drop a toy, bend down to pick it up and keep walking. It is so weird to see her walking!! Layla has also started doing a couple of animal noises...She can moo like a cow and bark like a dog :)

Last week was also a pretty miserable week for Layla. She started all of the teething symptoms again (runny nose, cough, and drool drool drool). I was pretty much giving her Motrin every four hours during the day. This week has been much better and the mortin is no longer needed. Her gums are swollen all the way across the top and I actually think she is trying to cut all four of her top teeth at the same time. I guess we will know soon enough!

Lucas got home at noon on Saturday and Layla saw him coming up the terminal at the airport and recognized and reached for him immediately. It was SO sweet. They were so happy to see each other. He brought her a stuffed monkey. She loves it and it is very fitting since we are always calling her monkey. We are enjoying our time together while he is home! He even took initiative to change a dirty diaper! Our week filled up very quickly but we have reserved Tuesday night for just the 2 of us. We are leaving Layla for the first time over night and heading up to Tim's Ford lake to spend the night at a lakehouse. Looking forward to some "adult" time! His work in NYC is going very well! Keep praying that God would open up doors for more work so that we can be back together as a family ASAP! Although it is hard to be apart, I know this is a necessary time and Lucas is learning so much about his work. We are still waiting on our home to sell in Memphis. We have had some interest and just believing that it will sell by the end of the summer.

I haven't been doing much while Murfreesboro. It has been nice staying at my parents since laundry and house keeping is pretty much taken care of :) I have been running, trying to train for the Middle Tennessee Half Marathon that happens in October. I was having issues with my knee a few months ago, but it had not been hurting me while running until our long run last Saturday. I got a brace today and just praying that it will help with the problem and I don't have to see a doctor! Running is addicting and I hope that I can continue with minimal pain.

God is good and blessing us in more ways than we deserve!

1 Year Olds are Smart!

After Layla's first birthday it is like a switch was flipped! All of a sudden she is a big girl! She has started talking alot and using her sign language. And without a doubt she is understanding a lot of what I am saying. I love watching her take everything in and then respond. She is also loving the pool. I put her in the float and she gathers all the balls that we have in the pool and just entertains herself! With her first birthday she also became a picky eater. She LOVES yogurt and would live off that with fruit if I would allow it. She pretty much refuses any green vegetable and if I start her meal with bread she will not try anything else. She is still napping twice a day, usually about 2 hours each nap. She has been sleeping a whole lot lately. I think that she is getting ready to finally cut her top two teeth because we have started the excessive drooling and clear runny nose again. She is having a time adjusting to the nursery at our church here. She did so good in Memphis but this is a new atmosphere and it has thrown her for a loop. Atleast here she has Granna or Aunt Abbey to occasionally come to her rescue! I am looking forward to a fun summer with her. She is at such a great age!

New "words" she is saying:
Hey
Thank you
Hey Lilly (the dog)
Kitty
Nite Nite
Bye Bye
Yes

Of course none of these words are as clear as you or I would say them, but she is repeating me and using them in the correct context.

Of course

My Heart is in New York

Happy Memorial Day everyone! What a great holiday. I always love Memorial Day because it is the kick off to summer. I have many great memories of time spent during this long weekend every year. This year was no different. I have a cousin who is stationed in Germany in the Air Force and he crossed my mind several times today. Another thing that is always on my mind when I think of people fighting for our country is not only the sacrifice they make, but the sacrifice their family makes. I couldn't imagine my husband being gone for months at a time. They are much better women than I am for sure! So thankful for this country we live in and the people who sacrifice everyday to keep it that day!

Today we got up and Lucas packed his bag and said his goodbyes and we headed to the airport. I didn't want to watch him say goodbye to Layla because I didn't want to get emotional. I didn't watch but I did get emotional anyway! Can I still blame it on the hormones?? Then I told him I teared up because he would have been diappointed if I didn't, since I ALWAYS do when saying goodbye to him. After an hour delay in Nashville because of storms in Chicago, and the running to catch his next flight, he finally arrived in NYC. He said the place he is staying is kind of like a studio apartment and they are both sleeping on air mattresses (not the same one). :) You can't complain about free and I assume he will be so tired at night that he won't care what he is sleeping on. If you know my husband, you know that he can sleep anywhere. He "talked" to Layla on the phone tonight and she was waving to the air. SO cute. She loves her daddy!

After taking Lucas to the airport, we spent the afternoon at some good friends house, watching the kids play in the baby pool and slip and slide and eat some GREAT food! It was a beautiful day spent with great friends! As I said yesterday I hope to have some pics of our activities up as soon as I get my computer set up.

BTW, Layla is standing more and more each day and even ventured out and took a few more steps on her own today. She is getting more brave and I expect her to take off anyday. Did I mention she will be 1 tomorrow?? Crazy.

The party is over and I am tired!!

We celebrated Layla's first birthday party today. It was a couple of day's early because her daddy leaves tomorrow for NYC. I had planned a pool party at my parent's house. We just had immediate family and our closest friends. As I kept checking the radar throughout the afternoon it appeared that we were going to get a little wet. Fortunately, we set everything up under a sheltered area so atleast EVERYTHING wouldn't get wet. Just about the time everyone got their food and sat down the bottom dropped out!!! I was trying hard not to get upset. When you picture your child's first birthday you just don't picture everything soaking wet :) Anyway, much thanks to our family and friends who survived the brief down pour! The rain was gone after we finished presents and were able to all get in the pool with the kiddos anyway.

Layla was such a trooper. She got a little ansy when we were all crammed together trying to stay dry, but she chilled out and really enjoyed her cupcake! It was all over her face and I believe that she would have eaten the whole thing if I would have let her sit there long enough! She also really anjoyed seeing all her new presents. SO crazy how only 6 months ago at Christmas she could have cared less about her presents, but she was really checking them out today! She also stood for quite a long time and took a couple steps in front of everyone. Everbody got excited and started cheering for her so then she got startled and dropped to the ground. After presents, we got in the pool. She was diving into bed by 8:00! What a great day with many memories. Layla is so blessed to have so many people that LOVE her so much. Hopefully pictures are to come as soon as I can get somewhere to upload them!

Self Employed!

As of today, Lucas is officially self employed! He went into the office this morning to turn in his phone, keys, and credit card. I asked if he was sad to leave and he said no not really, everyone else is sad though! His business partner has been in NYC already working for about 2 weeks now. Lucas flies out at 12:00pm Monday and will be gone for 2 weeks and then home for a week. God is already opening up doors for more new work. Very exciting!

Life of a Nomad

This morning, I packed up everything that Layla and I would need for the next few months and loaded up the car. We hit the road about 11:30am and arrived at my parents house about 3:30pm (WE had a pit stop in Jackson for lunch). As I was packing up our things, preparing to leave, I begin to have a few sentimal thoughts. The past year of our lives in Memphis have been life changing. No exaggeration. God has taught us so much about where we have been in life with Him and where he was going to take us in the future. It has probably been one of the most monumental "seasons" of my life with my Father. I can't put in one post about all the things He has spoken to me and my family this last year, but for the first time in my life I get butterflies when I think of my Jesus because of the new love that I have for Him. As I was leaving behind our nice house, and all of our stuff, God just spoke to me and told me that I was taking along everything that I need for happiness. I have my husband and my daughter and Him! I am thankful for this season of simplicity and looking forward to what is to come.

So now I am at my parents. Layla and I (Lucas is coming tomorrow)spent the afternoon riding around on the Gator and looking at the cows. If you now ask Layla what a cow says she will Moo. Then after we got nice and sweaty we put on our bathing suits and hopped in the pool. Layla is a little fish! She LOVES the water! She was even dunking her face into the water and then laughing about it. Crazy kid. I am going to have to watch her for sure.

We are officailly done nursing. I was interested to see how she would act this morning after the episode that we had yesterday. I got her out of her crib and she was loving on me. But she was not trying to undress me like she normally is. I usually cannot set her down until she has nursed. So, I just sat her in the highchair, gave her some milk in her sippy cup and her yogurt. She was just happy as can be! Talking about a child weaning herself, Layla has for sure. Next to go is the paci. She only gets it in the bed and the car right now but I am thinking about cutting the tip around 13 months. Any thoughts on this moms?

Since I am at my parents, the only connection I have to the internet is a Verizon Air card. I am going to do the best I can to keep my blog up to date but sometimes it might be challening.

Everyone have a great night!